Listen to The Pretenders’ soul-influenced new tune, “You Can’t Hurt a Fool”

The Pretenders have debuted a third advance track from their forthcoming studio album, Hate for Sale, which will be released on July 17. “You Can’t Hurt a Fool” is a soulful ballad that’s available now as a digital single and via streaming services. You also can check out on the band’s official YouTube channel.

“I suppose our biggest influence apart from crazy, hard-core rock and roll has been R&B,” says frontwoman Chrissie Hynde about “You Can’t Hurt a Fool.” “[Pretenders guitarist] James [Walbourne] and I really grappled with this one to get in all the subtleties and nuance of an R&B classic, albeit with modern, autobiographical lyrics…The fool is me!”

As previously reported, Hate for Sale features 10 new original songs co-written by Hynde and Walbourne, marking the first time the two have penned a full collection of tunes together.

The other songs from Hate for Sale that have been released digitally in advance of the album’s arrival are the title track and “The Buzz.”

Hate for Sale was produced by Stephen Street, whose previous credits include albums by The Smiths, Blur and The Cranberries. You can pre-order the album now, and purchase and bundles featuring a CD or vinyl LP packaged with a t-shirt at The Pretenders’ online store.

As previously reported, The Pretenders are scheduled to join Journey for a lengthy North American tour that currently is slated to get underway with a May 15 show in Ridgefield, Washington. Of course, the trek could be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hynde recently posted a Facebook message in which she commented, “Who knows whether our tour with Journey will go ahead. You’ll know as soon as I do what the fate of that will be.”